Jill Culiner is visiting and talking about being a Panster or a Plotter #MFRWAuthor #Panster #Plotter

 

1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

 

I need to have an idea of what I’m going to write before I begin working on a manuscript. In other words, I have something I really want to say, or I have a story to tell. Otherwise why write ?

 

2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

 

I can’t see how the two can be separated. A plot happens because of one particular character’s vision of the world; a character’s foibles create a plot.

 

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

 

After having three romance releases in a row (and a non-fiction book that is sitting on a publisher’s desk), I’ve decided I need a break from writing. What I’m doing now, is working a series of satirical cartoons that I’ll be putting together in a book. Here’s an example:

 

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

 

In my Blake’s Folly trilogy, the Mizpah Saloon shows up with great frequency. But it’s quite a wonderful place, well over a hundred and fifty years old:

The Mizpah had seen worse days. Sometimes neglected and left to sag by indifferent owners, sometimes cherished and coddled, its second-floor balcony was still in place, so were the broad sash windows. Inside, the floor was as glossy and polished as it might have been a hundred years earlier, and the brass rails gleamed. Old framed paintings hung on the walls, and an ancient wooden clock was still steadily ticking its way through the centuries.

 

5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?

It all depends. If I’m working on something that I feel passionate about, it becomes my whole life. Otherwise, I wait until the mood hits me.

 

6. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

I’m a non-fiction reader. I admire—and enjoy—W.G. Sebald. I particularly love his brilliant Rings of Saturn. But I equally enjoy Charles King, Neal Ascherson, Robert A. Rosenstone and so many others.

 

7. Where can we find you?

Here’s my web site: https://www.j-arleneculiner.com/

Here’s my storytelling podcast: https://soundcloud.com/j-arlene-culiner

And here are all my links in one place: https://linktr.ee/j.arleneculiner